FLIA 139

“It’s been a long time since I saw you all after you returned from the Abyss. Mr. Lee Hyunmook is still very reliable. Hahaha! And our Mr. Lee Chanha, why does he get more handsome every time I see him? Miss Seo Yakrin has also become prettier?”

“Damn it.”

Lee Chanha’s gaze was ice cold and Seo Yakrin openly showed annoyance, but Kim Jongseok, sweating heavily, kept on greeting them without stopping. He treated Yoon Seungryong and Ju Hoyoung warmly too, yet he passed right by Yohan without even asking for a handshake. The Taeyang Team members seemed to like that even more. Seo Yakrin patted Yohan’s back kindly and spoke.

“Right. Our Yohan doesn’t touch pee.”

Yohan, who had been standing still trying not to draw attention, blinked his eyes. Pee…? On top of that, it seemed Kim Jongseok heard it too…. Seeing him smile without showing any reaction, it was really an incredible poker face.

“Come on, everyone, sit down, sit down.”

Since it was a celebration ceremony for Abyss returnees, the Taeyang Team, the main characters, had the seats of honor. Starting with Lee Hyunmook, the seats next to Kim Jongseok were arranged in order of age. Naturally, the lowest seat was for Yohan. Without much thought, Yohan headed toward his seat, but Yoon Seungryong sat there first.

“I like this seat.”

“I’ll take this one.”

Ju Hoyoung quickly swapped the nameplate and sat at the other edge. In the end, Yohan sat in the very middle, with Lee Hyunmook and Lee Chanha right next to him. They were in positions where they could completely protect Yohan immediately if anything happened.

Because of that, Kim Jongseok ended up sitting right next to Ju Hoyoung, and his expression became sour. Ju Hoyoung started playing a game noisily, then put on his earphones, making it impossible to talk to him. Seo Yakrin, sitting next to him, also crossed her arms with a very indifferent attitude. Only Yoon Seungryong, who cared only about food, flipped through the pamphlet.

“Judging by the smell, they must have set up a buffet inside. When do we eat?”

Even Yohan, whose senses were honed, couldn’t catch a whiff from inside the annex building, so that sense of smell was amazing.

‘But something….’

Yohan kept shifting uncomfortably, he restlessly looked around. Lee Hyunmook, sitting next to him, asked.

“Is the chair uncomfortable?”

“No. But something keeps bothering me…. It feels strange….”

He couldn’t point it out exactly, but he started to feel unpleasant and irritated. If he had to compare, it was like there was a cockroach crawling on him…. Then Yohan’s eyes met Park Seungmin’s, who was sitting right next to Kim Jongseok on the opposite side.

Park Seungmin’s gaze was burning. His face showed that he couldn’t accept why it was Yang Yohan, not himself, sitting there enjoying things. Yohan smiled at him on purpose, flaunting it to the greedy traitor. Seeing him get agitated and restless, Yohan felt a bit pleased.

‘Isn’t it about time the purification power I poured into him that day wears off?’

The purification power, which had been full at first, of course didn’t recover. It had just been piled high on top of the bowl like a mountain of rice. Only the bowl’s worth of purification power had originally been allotted to Park Seungmin. And even that was less than a rice bowl, more like the size of a small soy sauce dish….

–We will now proceed with the ceremony hosted by the Rift Management Bureau. All attendees, please take your seats.

Following the announcement, everyone sat down. There were dozens of cameras from reporters covering the ceremony and streaming phones. Most of them were aimed at the Taeyang Team, currently the hottest topic, and at the only purifier, Park Seungmin.

Normally, Yohan would have been busy hiding his face, burdened by cameras pointed at him. But not this time. The uncomfortable feeling he had been feeling was getting stronger. At first he thought it was dislike toward Park Seungmin and Go Jaewon, but no matter how much he thought, it wasn’t that kind. And now it seemed like he wasn’t the only one noticing. While the ceremony was ongoing, Lee Hyunmook quietly called out.

“Chanha.”

He just called his name but Lee Chanha immediately nodded in understanding. Yohan was so nervous that he didn’t even notice the teammates exchanging glances. The feeling was vague to the extreme. If he had to compare, it was like a danger signal coming through but being interrupted by interference….

–It is deeply moving to have such a meaningful event today. Nowhere else in the world has there been an awakener who returned from the Abyss, but here in our proud Republic of Korea, the first one has appeared. Korea, the nation that owns Abyss return awakeners! Please give them applause!

Kim Jongseok’s words on the podium were so corny that Yohan momentarily forgot his discomfort and stared blankly. From all sides came loud clapping. Yoon Seungryong openly looked Kim Jongseok up and down with disdain.

–And our country had another recent joy! Purifier Park Seungmin! Please come up! Don’t be shy!

Wasn’t this supposed to be the Abyss returnees celebration ceremony? When Park Seungmin went up on the podium, Yohan was bewildered. Now he realized it was actually a promotion stage for the high-level purifier disguised as the celebration.

‘I’m glad I’m not up there….’

With a very proud face, Park Seungmin grabbed the microphone. Just as he was about to start his self-introduction.

–Hello, I am high-level purifier Park Seungmin….

Beeeeep–! Even before he finished greeting, a piercing sound in that tore through the ears filled the place. Kim Jongseok still kept a smiling face, but as the sound grew louder and louder, his expression finally distorted. He pointed at the speaker and shouted.

“Who’s the equipment manager? Hurry up and fix it!”

Civil servants under the podium scrambled. But even after they took action, the noise did not stop, and in the end they powered everything down. A grim silence filled the hall. Park Seungmin stood dumbly on stage, he suddenly frowned before he forced his mouth open again.

“Uh…!”

The feeling suddenly grew clear, and Yohan unconsciously stood up from his seat. A few reporters’ eyes turned to him, but soon scattered at the screams that erupted.

“Aaagh! What is that?!”

“A monster! Kyaaa!”

Grotesque-looking monsters suddenly appeared among the crowd, and people who had been sitting jumped up screaming. They were not simple monsters but severely corrupted people.

“Where’s the purifier? Where’s the purifier where’s the purifier where’s the purifiiier whereee is it?

“Purif, aaaah. Aaah, fi, fiii, cu, cure… me.”

“Ugh, uwaaagh.”

On the forehead of one corrupted, a nauseating huge skin flower bloomed. Its pistil and stamen made of hair wriggled. Another corrupted staggered, collapsed, and crawled on all fours. One more kept spewing filth from his mouth without end.

Yohan realized the uncomfortable feeling he had been having came from those severely corrupted people. What had been blurred like signal interference became clear. Yohan opened his mouth.

“Those people…!”

At the same moment, Lee Chanha held Yohan in his arms and jumped high. Yohan flinched in shock as Lee Chanha hugged him tight and landed in the press section where reporters were packed. It was also the most densely crowded spot. He spread a wide blue barrier that covered the panicked people.

“Ah! Awakener Lee Chanha!”

“Everyone, take shelter here!”

When Lee Chanha shouted, the panicked people immediately ran inside the barrier. It was wide enough to hold many. Held tightly in his arms, Yohan looked around. Boom! A loud sound made him turn his head, and he saw Lee Hyunmook slam a corrupted who had charged the stage into the ground. The man’s body had swollen to nearly twice the size of a normal person.

“Puriiifier, puriii, fieeeer….”

Lee Hyunmook frowned as he listened to the corrupted mumble while his head was pinned under his hand. All of the corrupted were calling out for a purifier, and it felt like they were brainwashed.

The problem did not end there. Besides the corrupted who suddenly came from among the people, others were now appearing from the small forest around the hotel annex.

“Seo Yakrin, Ju Hoyoung! Check where the corrupted are swarming from!”

At Lee Hyunmook’s order, the two vanished toward the forest. Lee Hyunmook and Yoon Seungryong pinned down corrupted one by one. Their abilities were hard to use in a place crowded with civilians, so they fought purely with their bodies.

“Puriiifier! Kehk, kehk, purifier!”

“Thereee, thereee, liiight! Theeere’s light!”

The problem was that Lee Chanha’s barrier was quite far from the stage. Kim Jongseok and Park Seungmin, who had been standing on stage, grew frantic. Anyone could see the corrupted were converging on him. Special Suppression Unit members surrounded the stage and formed a screen, but their numbers were too few and left gaps. Park Seungmin was almost grabbed by a corrupted person climbing onto the stage, and as he felt his life threatened he screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Lee Lee Chanha! Not there! I’m here! Protect me first! I’m a high-level purifier!”

No matter how desperately he called Lee Chanha, who was holding the barrier, did not move. Realizing it was useless, Park Seungmin urgently started pushing Go Jaewon.